Same Same, Toronto’s newest Thai restaurant, is set to open May 22 under the ownership of Jesse Warfield and Phanom Suksaen (owner of Toronto restaurants Le Lert, Savor, Larb Muang, Aamara and Koh Lipe,) but the inspiration for the concept revolves around a Vancouverite.
“Chef Tempo” aka chef Warakorn Suriyawong, first moved from Thailand to Vancouver to pursue his Canadian culinary career. At elevated Thai restaurant Song, he earned Michelin Bib Gourmand, and also met Suksean. Earlier this year, Tempo followed Suksean to Toronto to head up his new restaurant, Same Same.
Having never lived in Toronto before, Tempo says he likes the city, though he finds it a bit busy. He’s used to the slow pace of mountain hiking and camping, and hasn’t had the time to be outdoors as much in Toronto. His motivation for moving, he says, was to familiarize Torontotonians with his work, create a more upscale menu and determine the flavour that Canadian Thai food should have.
“The Thai food here is a little bit different from Vancouver,” he says, explaining that Southern Thai is very authentic in Vancouver, but that Toronto has more Northern Thai food which more closely resembles the Thai food he enjoyed at home in Thailand. “In Vancouver, Thai food is all around [but there’s] not much specific regional food. I find that Toronto is more open about food than anywhere else in Canada.”
To date the restaurant only has five-star reviews and aims for a high standard of cuisine and service, as reflected by the expensive menu prices. Behind the scenes, an unsuspecting individual, general manager Othman Zegai has been working diligently to ensure the restaurant’s success.
Originally from Paris, Zegai worked in the hospitality industry for over 10 years, for high-end chefs and restaurants, before an unintentional trip to Canada during the COVID pandemic got him stuck in the country.
“I was not even supposed to be here in the first place, and then I was like, you know what, I’m just going to choose to stay here, and I started working,” he says.
Despite his experience, he had to build his way up to land a job here — something he said he didn’t mind at all because he’s a hard worker. He began as a dishwasher, and made his way up to line cook, cook, supervisor, then kitchen manager. After a few years, he began managing different restaurants and clubs downtown.
“I loved it, and this is really something that I enjoy doing, which is why I’m still working in this industry even though I put in a lot of hours,” he says. “Especially doing openings, there’s a lot of work that people aren’t aware of, a lot of logistics to deal with in the background. But honestly, if you love your job and you like what you’re doing, I’m sure you’re not going to be looking at your watch anytime soon.”
With Same Same, he says the owners had the concept in mind for quite some time, but were missing a key piece–”most likely chef himself,” says Zegai. “We had to find the perfect chef, somebody that knows about Thai food, somebody that has experience, and somebody that can understand what the customer would like to have, especially on King Street.”
Once chef Tempo entered the picture, everything fell into place. He created the entire menu, and the service ethos rose up around it. “Here’s the thing, we call ourselves ‘Thai, but different,’ ” says Zegai.
The menu features signature cocktails inspired by characters of the popular White Lotus TV series (season three) and dishes quite literally differentiated as “Same” and “Same But Different.”
“Same” features plates like oysters, crab and deep fried giannone wingette, while “Same But Different” features locally inspired plates like Canadian royal white sturgeon caviar and Hudson Valley’s Moulard duck leg.
“And the reason why we call it ‘different’ is because we truly try to be different in terms of food quality, but also in terms of drink quality, and in terms of service itself,” says Zegai. He notes that even guests who don’t typically like Thai food have stated that Same Same tastes different than what they’re used to.
Working in high end restaurants taught Zegai that perfect service meant paying attention to details and always being one step ahead, which is exactly what he taught the service staff to do. It’s about always taking that extra effort to make sure guests feel special. An example of that is Chef’s table, a reservation in which chef Tempo will personally present the dishes to guests, and explain the cuisine in detail.
Zegai is also going out of his way to bring high-profile guests to the restaurants, having already extended personal invites to celebrities, NBA players, and even Shark Tank investors. At present he is working on a collaboration with TIFF to host the producers, and celebrities attending the festival. “I’m here to create a relationship between myself and patrons,” he says.
After he gets Same Same off the ground, Zegai aspires to open his own French bistro in Toronto, a goal that he believes he can achieve in close to two years.
You can visit Same Same starting May 22, at 303 King St. W.
